CCTV9英语新闻：Current Administrative Procedure Law under fire for inefficiency（在线收听）

By CCTV reporter Liu Yang

The Administrative Procedure Law is often used in cases involving the improper handling of land of local governments. Our reporter Liu Yang explains the loopholes in the current law and what the changes to the law would mean for citizens.

Hu Benzhi and Xiong Wei have been seeking legal help for years. They and hundreds of their neighbors in the northern part of Sichuan Province lost their homes and farmland 5 years ago, when the local government seized their land to build a 500-hectare industrial park. In 2009, they began writing complaint letters to the local authorities, but no results.
Only this year were they finally able to bring a lawsuit against the local government, charging that officials illegally took their land and didn’t offer them proper compensation. Still, they were frustrated with the response.

“We have received many phone calls from the court. Some were directed to us by the lawyer, asking us to come to the courts for a short talk about the case. But in fact they wanted us to drop the suit,” Xiong Wei said.

“I think it’s taken too long to deal with this case,” Hu Benzhi said.

Experts say it’s difficult to file a lawsuit using the Administrative Procedure Law. Although a large number of cases are covered under the scope of the law, undue restrictions on their prosecution, and local limitations on the number of cases courts are willing to accept, often leave many litigants out in the cold.

“Many plaintiffs drop their cases because it’s so time-consuming and costs a great deal. Many people choose instead to send complaint letters or take more extreme approaches to seek what they think is a fair result,” said Zhao Meilan, attorney of Sichuan Gong Sheng Ming Law Firm.

Professor Xu Jimin is one of the top experts in administrative procedure law in China. He says as the complex social relationship that’s developed between the government and social organizations and regular citizens has made provisions in the administrative procedure law hard to implement.

“Between civil, criminal, and administrative procedure law cases, the appeal and petition rates for administrative procedure cases are the highest. They were 6-times higher than civil and criminal lawsuits. It shows that the Administrative Procedure Law didn’t really solve people’s problems,” Professor Xu Jimin said.

But experts say any changes to the current Administrative Procedure Law should be a coordinated effort between governments, citizens and the market.

Experts have noted that China has improved its legal framework over the past decade. The latest amendment to the administrative procedure law aims to further strengthen this system by guaranteeing the rights of people and preventing government interference. The changes taken at the sixth plenum of the Standing Committee of the 12th National People’s Congress will be another important step toward the rule of law in China.